Department for Education

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of any changes to employer contributions for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme on (1) maintained schools, and (2) academies.

Baroness Barran: Work on finalising the 2020 valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is still ongoing and the department expects to be able to publish the outcome in late summer.There are several policy decisions and scheme-based assumptions still to be determined that could affect the final outcome, which means it is not possible at this stage to accurately assess the likely impact on scheme employers. Following His Majesty’s Treasury’s (HMT) announcement on 30 March 2023 of the Government’s response to the consultation on the methodology for determining the discount rate to be applied in the valuation of public service schemes, it is expected that the contribution rate for the TPS will need to rise. That is why the Government has committed to providing funding for the 2024/25 financial year for centrally funded employers, like maintained schools and academies, to help address the impacts involved.The Department is working with HMT and the actuary for the TPS, the Government Actuary’s Department, to progress the TPS valuation as quickly as possible. Regular updates will continue to be provided to the groups representing employers and members.

Teachers: Workplace Pensions

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of any changes to employer contributions for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme on private schools which participate in the Scheme.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how many employers providing private education for school age children are currently participating in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how many employers providing private education for school age children have stopped participating in the Teacher’s Pension Scheme in each of the last five years.

Baroness Barran: Work on finalising the 2020 valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is still ongoing and the department expects to be able to publish the outcome in late summer.There are several policy decisions and scheme-based assumptions still to be determined that could affect the final outcome, which means it is not possible at this stage to accurately assess the likely impact on scheme employers. Following His Majesty’s Treasury’s (HMT) announcement on 30 March 2023 of the government’s response to the consultation on the methodology for determining the discount rate to be applied in the valuation of public service schemes, it is expected that the contribution rate for the TPS will need to rise.The department appreciates that the independent schools that choose to participate in the TPS will therefore be faced with an increase in employee-related costs. Mindful of this and their need to plan, the department is working with HMT and the actuary for the TPS, the Government Actuary’s Department, to progress the TPS valuation as quickly as possible. Regular updates will continue to be provided to the groups representing employers and members.817 employers providing private education for school age children are currently participating in the TPS.A total of 333 employers providing private education for school age children have stopped participating in the TPS in the last five years. This comprises 96 in 2019, 110 in 2020, 82 in 2021, 38 in 2022 and 7 in 2023. Additionally in the last five years, a further 90 such employers have taken the option of a phased withdrawal meaning they will continue participating for existing teaching staff only. This comprises 14 in 2021 (when the phased withdrawal policy was introduced), 62 in 2022 and 14 in 2023 (the latter including two establishments with future withdrawal dates).

Ministry of Justice

Child Trust Fund

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to amend legislation to help (1) child trust fund beneficiaries who do not have the capacity to make their own financial decisions, and (2) the families of those beneficiaries, to access their savings, without needing to apply to the Court of Protection for a financial deputyship; and what estimate they have made of the number of child trust funds that belong to young people in this category.

Lord Bellamy: Following a public consultation, the Government concluded it would not seek to amend legislation in this area but would instead seek to address issues in the existing system whilst also continuing the appropriate protections and safeguards for vulnerable individuals.A programme of work is already underway to streamline and simplify the property and affairs application process in the Court of Protection.The Government does not collect figures on the number of Child Trust Funds held by individuals who lack mental capacity.

Juries

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government whatconsideration they have given to the findings of a study by Royal Holloway, University of London of religious bias in jury outcomes with regard to different choices of oath; and whether they have any plans to update existing rules or guidance.

Lord Bellamy: Trial by jury is a fundamental part of our justice system, and the Government is committed to ensuring juries are as representative as possible of the public at large. Juries are selected completely at random in order to ensure that a cross-section of society is reflected in their make-up. Successive academic studies have shown that juries deliver fair and impartial results.We continually monitor proceedings in the criminal courts to ensure fair trials for defendants. There are currently no plans to change the rules or guidance around swearing an oath or making an affirmation in court.

Chief Coroner

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what role the Chief Coroner has in relation to the conduct of coroners in respect of non-judicial matters.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what role the Chief Coroner has in relation to any antemortem indication given by a coroner in accordance with paragraph 21 of the Chief Coroner’s Guidance No. 26 Organ Donation, resulting in the non-retrieval for donation of a healthy organ for which there is no good medical reason.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they areconcerned by any antemortem indication given by a coroner in accordance with paragraph 21 of the Chief Coroner’s Guidance No. 26 Organ Donation resulting in the non-retrieval for donation of a healthy organ for which there is no good medical reason.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether any requirement exists for a coroner to explain an antemortem indication given in accordance with paragraph 21 of the Chief Coroner’s Guidance No. 26 Organ Donation that results in organs not being donated.

Lord Bellamy: Coroners are independent judicial officers and the way in which they conduct their investigations is entirely a matter for them. Whilst the Chief Coroner provides leadership to all coroners and issues non-statutory guidance to promote consistency of practice, it would be inappropriate for him or the Government to comment on, or intervene in, the coroner’s decisions in an individual case. As set out in the Chief Coroner’s Guidance No 26 on organ donation, the coroner’s jurisdiction only arises once death has taken place, so the coroner has no power to make a decision about organ donation until the donor has died. Once death has taken place, the coroner has legal control of the body of the deceased person until such time as the body is released for burial or cremation and, during that time, all decisions made by the coroner in relation to the body are judicial decisions. However, for the coroner to wait until death has occurred before indicating their decision on organ donation would frustrate almost all donations because of the time needed to make the necessary preparations for organ retrieval. Therefore, where a death is likely, the coroner should be fully engaged with those treating the person and with the family, to ensure that any donation decisions can be made. As paragraph 21 of the Guidance sets out, once the coroner has been provided with the necessary information about an imminent death, they should give an indication as to whether they will object to organ donation. This can be taken as the coroner’s decision as at the moment of death unless, in the meantime, new, relevant information has come to light about the circumstances of the death, in which case the coroner should be contacted again. The reasons for which a coroner may object to organ donation are dependent on the circumstances of the individual case. If a family has concerns about a decision made by the coroner, they may want to discuss this with the coroner or make a complaint to the local authority which funds the relevant coroner service. It may, in some circumstances, be possible to challenge a decision made by a coroner by making an application to the High Court for judicial review. Complaints about the personal conduct of a coroner can be made to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office.

Appeals: Immigration

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government how many immigration decisions were overturned on appeal in (1) 1993, (2) 2003, (3) 2013 and (4) 2021.

Lord Bellamy: Data on appeal outcomes is not available for appeals concluded prior to 2007. For the period January to December in each of the years set out below the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal allowed the following number of appeals against Home Office decisions:1) 29,189 appeals in 20132) 11,506 appeals in 2021The latest release of Official Statistics for Tribunals (Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2022) published on 9 March 2023 can be found on Gov.uk.The percentage Allowed/Granted in the Official Statistics for Immigration and Asylum (FIA3) are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Prisoners' Transfers: Open Prisons

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government how manyparole board recommendations for the transfer of prisoners to open conditions were (1) accepted, and (2) rejected, by the Secretary of State for Justice between 1 January and 31 March this year.

Lord Bellamy: The Secretary of State (or an official with delegated responsibility) will accept a recommendation from the Parole Board to approve an indeterminate sentenced prisoner (ISP) for open conditions only where all criteria of the HM Prison and Probation Service Policy Framework have been met. The Policy Framework and associated guidance were updated in June 2022. Under the terms of the Policy, the Secretary of State (or an official with delegated responsibility) will accept a recommendation from the Parole Board (approve an ISP for open conditions) only where:the prisoner is assessed as low risk of abscond; anda period in open conditions is considered essential to inform future decisions about release and to prepare for possible release on licence into the community; anda transfer to open conditions would not undermine public confidence in the Criminal Justice System.Between 1 January and 31 March 2023, the Secretary of State for Justice accepted 14 and rejected 76 recommendations by the Parole Board to transfer an ISP to open conditions.

Department of Health and Social Care

Drugs: Advertising

Lord Strathcarron: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 11 April (HL6877),in which legislation it states that advertisements which form part of Government campaigns to encourage routine vaccination uptake “sit outside of the scope of United Kingdom advertising regulations”, and how that is consistent with (1) regulation 280 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, and (2) the definition of the promotion of a medicinal product in the MHRA’s Blue Guide as any thing or any activity "designed to promote the prescription, supply, sale or consumption of medicinal products".

Lord Markham: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible, on behalf of Health Ministers, for administering the legislation on advertising medicines as set out in Part 14 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, as amended. The relevant definition of an advertisement for a medicine is given in regulation 7. It is the view of the MHRA that materials disseminated by Government bodies in support of a public health campaign are not caught by this definition as they are not ‘designed to promote the prescription, supply, sale or use’ of a specific medicine or medicines. Their purpose is rather to promote public health by encouraging people to seek appropriate medical intervention, in this case uptake of vaccination against COVID-19. On the basis of this view, that Government campaigns are outside the definition outlined in regulation 7, regulation 280 does not apply.

Maternity Services: Languages

Baroness Coussins: To ask His Majesty's Government whether all printed information and advice provided to women who are pregnant or in labour about specific conditions and procedures which may be required at short notice are available in languages other than English; and if so, in which languages.

Lord Markham: The language and format of information available at short notice to women who are pregnant or in labour about specific conditions and procedures vary, as this is often locally produced in line with the needs of the local population. NHS England has developed some information nationally, which is available in English alongside Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Spanish and Urdu. It is also available in spoken formats including British Sign Language.

Prescriptions: Digital Technology

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey have, if any, to introduce a digital prescription scheme for patients who have repeat prescriptions.

Lord Markham: Digital prescriptions are already available. The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is a collection of IT systems, used in primary care, that interact with each other via a central national spine. It is how National Health Service electronic prescriptions in primary care are generated, transmitted and received, and allows prescribers to send prescriptions electronically to a dispenser, such as a pharmacy. The EPS supports two schemes for patients with regular repeat medicines: firstly, repeat prescribing, which allows the setting up, ordering, producing and sending of prescriptions and the review of medication. This allows prescribers to oversee the process and for patients to order their medicines if and when they are needed via their general practice (GP) surgery, the NHS App or another online service or app. Secondly, there is Electronic Repeat Dispensing, which allows a GP to send a series of prescriptions to the national spine in one go. These are held securely, accessible only by the patient’s pharmacy, which repeat dispenses against a prescription at appropriate intervals, so that there is no need to contact the GP to order them each time. In addition, the NHS App allows for patients to digitally request and manage their repeat prescriptions.

World Health Organization

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of amendments to Article 1 (Definitions) and the proposed new Article 13A (WHO-led International Public Health Response) of the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organisation, designed to give the organisation's recommendations binding effect on member states during a public health emergency of international concern.

Lord Markham: The International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) are a key part of the global health security system to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease. The Government continues to formulate positions during ongoing textual negotiations on the proposed amendments and continues to engage with other World Health Organization member states on the matter.The Government has a strong commitment and duty to implement international law that it is subject to. However, the United Kingdom will not sign up to any measures that compromise the UK’s ability to take decisions on national measures concerning public health.

Integrated Care Boards: Pay

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government, further tothe Written Answer byLord Markham on 3 April(HL6059), to list for the three Integrated Care Board chief executives of (1) Humber Coast and Vale, (2) South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, and (3) Cornwall and Isles of Scilly; and why each was judged to be of an exceptional nature and higher rates of pay were therefore supported by Ministers on the basis of each or any of (a)geographical scale and complexity, (b)stakeholder footprint and complexity, or (c)systems complexity.

Lord Markham: The reason for approving the salary at Humber Coast and Vale was that it features a large physical geography, making it difficult to support coastal towns. It also has the additional system complexity of having two of its foundation trusts, Northern Lincolnshire and Goole, in both quality and financial special measures.For South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw, it features system complexity with Sheffield Health and Social Care Foundation Trusts due to being in quality special measures and needing to engage with five local authorities. It also contains former coalfields with considerable health needs.Cornwall and Isles of Scilly features the geographical complexities of being a peninsula with 60% of people in settlements of under 30,000, affecting how and where services can be provided. There is also the additional complexity of having a large seasonal variation in population. Both of the two trusts within its remit required improvement as per their Care Quality Commission ratings.

Blood: Microplastics

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of research published in Environment International in February 2022 on the presence of microplastics in human blood, what plans they have for creating a National Plastic Health Research Impact Fund for further research in this area.

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville: To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of research published in Environment International in February 2022 on the presence of microplastics in human blood, what steps they will take to increase research into the health impacts of plastic pollution.

Lord Markham: Since 2018, the Government has committed over £100 million for research and innovation support to tackle the broad range of issues that arise from plastic waste. This includes funding research into the health impacts of plastic through UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health and Care Research. Whilst it is not typical to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, both funders welcome funding applications for research into the health impacts of plastic.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Beef: Imports

Lord Jopling: To ask His Majesty's Government (1) whether they have a reliable test to check whether beef imported from outside the European Union has been previously subjected to hormone implants, and if so, (2) when this test was introduced, and (3) where and by whom the test was developed.

Lord Benyon: All UK imports for products of animal origin from outside the EU currently require health certificates, including bovine meat products. The GB health certificates contain information on animal health status and human health risk. These health attestations confirms that the farmer has not used any prohibited medicinal products during production and that maximum residue levels for veterinary medicines have been respected. This information is confirmed, and the health certificate signed by, an official veterinarian in the exporting country.

Home Office

Asylum

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum claims were processed in (1) 1993, (2) 2003, (3) 2013 and (4) 2022.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum decision takers were employed in (1) 1993, (2) 2003, (3) 2013 and (4) 2022.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions made on asylum applications can be found in table Asy_D02 of the asylum and resettlement detailed datasets. The latest data available is from 2001 up the year ending December 2022. Data for the year ending March 2023 will be published on 25 May 2023.The number of full time equivalent (FTE) asylum caseworkers employed in each financial year from 2010/11 – 2021/22 is located in the ASY_04 tab of the published Migration transparency data, found online: Immigration and protection data: Q4 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Caseworking staff as referred to in the published immigration data, are defined as those responsible for delivering the interview and decision stages of asylum claims within asylum operations.The number of (FTE) caseworkers working on asylum decisions from 1993 and 2003 is not published.Asy_D02  (xlsx, 9184.2KB)ASY_04 tab  (xlsx, 655.3KB)

Refugees: Homelessness

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support newly recognised refugees; andwhat plans they have to reconsider extending the move-on period from 28 to 56 days in line with the prevention duty contained in section 195 of the 1996 Housing Act.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: If an asylum seeker is granted refugee status, they gain immediate access to the labour market and receive advice to help them transition to the mainstream benefit system if they still require support.We offer support through Migrant Help or their partner organisations. This includes providing advice on accessing the labour market through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), providing advice on applying for Universal Credit and signposting to local authorities for assistance with housing. In some circumstances, Migrant Help may also book appointments for newly recognised refugees with the DWP to apply for Universal Credit.Newly recognised refugees are entitled to housing assistance from their local authority and are treated as a priority need if they have children or are considered vulnerable.The asylum accommodation estate is under huge strain and increasing the ‘move on’ period would exacerbate these pressures. There are no current plans to change the time period (of 28 days) for how long individuals remain on asylum support once they have had a grant of asylum.

Asylum: Housing

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the cost of using and converting (1) RAF Scampton, (2) MDP Wethersfield, (3) the Northeye site, and (4) the Bibby Stockholm barge for asylum-seeker accommodation; and what assessment they have made of the value of the contracts to the agencies managing these sites.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The United Kingdom has a legal obligation to provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation and other support whilst their claim for asylum is being considered.Ongoing work across government is being undertaken to identify and secure alternative, more appropriate, cost-effective accommodation options around the country. In exploring potential alternative large sites, we continue to consider all available options to source appropriate and cost-effective temporary accommodation.

Asylum

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs of implementing the recommendations made in the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 2021,An inspection of asylum casework (August 2020–May 2021), published on 18 November 2021.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home office welcomes the recommendations made in the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration 2021 “An inspection of asylum casework”; and we are taking immediate action to accelerate decision-making and rapidly speed up processing times to eliminate the backlog of people waiting for initial asylum decisions by the end of 2023.Costs related to implementing the recommendations made in the report have not been assessed independently from the wider costs of the asylum system.Asylum costs are detailed in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, with the most recent Annual Report and Accounts for 2021 to 2022 published on 14 July 2022 and available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-annual-report-and-accounts-2021-to-2022Annual Report and Accounts for 2021 to 2022 (pdf, 2614.8KB)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Tesla: Cameras

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for British citizens of the evidence obtained by a Reuters investigation which suggests that Tesla employees have viewed and shared camera recordings obtained from Tesla cars in private domestic settings while the vehicle was not in use; and whether the viewing of such material relating to British citizens is lawful.

Viscount Camrose: Our data protection laws impose strict obligations on both individuals and organisations to process people’s data fairly, lawfully and transparently to ensure that any data collected is processed in a way which individuals would expect.The UK’s data protection laws are enforced independently of the Government by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Organisations that fail to comply may be subject to enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office. The Information Commissioner can impose significant financial penalties for non-compliance. The Data Protection Act 2018 also gives the ICO the power to prosecute those who commit criminal offences under the Act. Criminal offences under the Act include unlawfully obtaining, disclosing, or retaining personal data without the consent of the data controller.